Written Answers Thursday 24 July 2008

Scottish Executive

Fire Safety

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died as a result of a fire, where alcohol consumption was a contributory factor, in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested on fire fatalities where alcohol has been a contributing factor is not available at NHS board area. The national figure is given in Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland annual reports published by the Scottish Executive in January 2004; December 2004; October 2005; December 2006 and November 2007, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 30472; 34686; 38132; 41202 and 44156).

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent since May 2007 on tackling (a) MRSA and (b) clostridium difficile (i) across Scotland, (ii) by each individual NHS board and (iii) at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is not possible to provide the breakdown sought for (i) and (ii) as both the Scottish Government and NHS boards invest in a range of measures to tackle all Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI). For example, the Scottish Government invested over £5 million last financial year (2007-2008) in the measures and policies identified in the previous HAI Task Force Delivery Plan (2005-2008). This included funding to support HAI related posts in each NHS board and resources to support our national Hand Hygiene Campaign and the publication of key HAI guidance documents for NHS boards. Within that funding, each NHS board also shared in £1.2 million to support the bids they made for individual HAI related Implementation and Development projects.

  The Scottish Government is investing £54 million over the next three years (2008-2011) on an extensive and wide-ranging set of measures to prevent and control all HAIs across NHS Scotland, including a new national MRSA Screening Programme from 2009-2010. NHS boards and our multi agency stakeholders on the HAI Task Force will play a key role in taking forward the comprehensive programme of work in our three year HAI Delivery Plan which came into being on 1 April 2008.

  On part (iii) of the member’s Question, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that it is not possible to provide a breakdown of spending on these specific infections at the Vale of Leven Hospital as, in line with all NHS boards, funds are earmarked for infection prevention control and management generally, thus supporting the key message that infection prevention and control is everyone’s business.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the first deep clean was carried out at the Vale of Leven Hospital; how many deep cleans have been carried out there since May 2007 and the reasons for each one

Nicola Sturgeon: Since May 2007, 18 full ward terminal cleans have been carried out in a variety of wards at the Vale of Leven Hospital. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that it is not possible to state when the first terminal clean was carried out at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14339 on 15 July 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why it waited from 14 May until 22 May 2008 before making a public announcement on Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: I would refer to the timeline of events in my statement to the Parliament on 18 June 2008.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took following notification by Health Protection Scotland on 14 May 2008 of clostridium difficile cases at (a) Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, (b) Stobhill Hospital and (c) the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Grampian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde notified Health Protection Scotland (HPS) in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex 4 of the 2003 guidance document Managing Incidents Presenting Actual and Potential Risks to Public Health: Guidance on Roles and Responsibilities of Incident Control Teams. The guidance sets out the circumstances under which HPS should be informed of incidents and outbreaks. On (a) and (b) the Scottish Government was notified of the cases by Health Protection Scotland on 13 May and I was kept regularly briefed by my officials thereafter. Health Protection Scotland were proactive on the matter and sent a letter to all NHS boards on 14 May 2008 to reinforce advice on the measures to control Clostridium difficile and a News Release was issued by them on 15 May 2008. On (c) I refer the member to the question S3W-14687 answered on 24 July 2008.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took following notification by Health Protection Scotland on 29 April 2008 of a Clostridium difficile case at the Royal Alexandria Hospital, Paisley.

Nicola Sturgeon: Health Protection Scotland (HPS) notified the Scottish Government of this case on 13 May. All the established infection control procedures and steps were followed by the NHS board and, as in all cases of this kind, HPS provided the NHS board with its expert advice and support.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took following notification by Health Protection Scotland on 13 May 2008 of a Clostridium difficile case at the Royal Alexandria Hospital, Paisley.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Glasgow notified Health Protection Scotland (HPS) in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex 4 of the 2003 guidance document Managing Incidents Presenting Actual and Potential Risks to Public Health: Guidance on Roles and Responsibilities of Incident Control Teams. The guidance sets out the circumstances under which HPS should be informed of incidents and outbreaks. The Scottish Government was notified of the case by HPS on 13 May and I was kept regularly briefed by my officials thereafter. HPS were proactive on the matter and sent a letter to all NHS boards on 14 May 2008 to reinforce advice on the measures to control Clostridium difficile and a News Release was issued by them on 15 May.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been made available to tackle Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital, broken down by (a) finance and (b) staff.

Nicola Sturgeon: I am advised by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that £1.1million of capital-related investment was made in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

  I refer the member to the answer to questions S3W-14368 and S3W-14685 on 14 July and 23 July 2008 respectively. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found: at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been recorded where (a) Clostridium difficile-associated disease, (b) MRSA, (c) vancomycin-resistant enterococci, (d) multi-resistant acinetobacter spp and (e) penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae was mentioned on the death certificate and in how many cases it was also the underlying cause of death in each year since 2001.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data for (a) and (b) are provided in the table below. It is not possible, however, to provide figures on the specific infections requested at (c), (d) or (e).

  Deaths with Mention of Clostridium Difficile or MRSA in Scotland for the Period 2001 to 2006:

  

 
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006


 Clostridium Difficile mentioned (underlying cause of death or contributory factor)
 170
 164
 188
 239
 313
 417


 Clostridium Difficile underlying cause of death
 57
 70
 73
 98
 102
 164


 MRSA mentioned (underlying cause of death or contributory factor)
 136
 155
 169
 190
 212
 213


 MRSA underlying cause of death
 36
 46
 39
 42
 38
 51

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals have registered cases of Clostridium difficile above predicted numbers in each month since January 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: All data on cases of Clostridium difficile Associated Disease (CDAD) are published by NHS board. The latest quarterly report for the period January 2008 - March 2008 was published on 2 July 2008 and is available at:

  http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ewr/article.aspx.

  The Scottish Government also wrote to all NHS boards on 18 June to ask them to review their Clostridium difficile data by hospital over the previous six months and to report their findings back to Health Protection Scotland by the end of July. As a result of this exercise we shall examine how the surveillance systems can be improved. I will update members if anything arises from that exercise.

Local Government Finance

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it envisages that (a) each local authority will issue bonds to finance capital spending, (b) there will be a single local authority bond or (c) both scenarios will arise.

John Swinney: Local authorities are responsible for determining their borrowing requirements and deciding what offers best value to them. The Government will work with local authorities through the Scottish Futures Trust to support this power.

NHS Waiting Times

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13709 by Nicola Sturgeon on 10 June 2008, whether the (a) 5,692 Code 50 out-patients, (b) 680 Code 59 outpatients, (c) 129 Code 50 in-patients and (d) 1,622 Code 59 in-patients had their "clock" stopped or reset to zero on transfer and whether each patient or their GP/referrer was advised of both the decision to transfer and the action in respect of the patient’s "clock".

Shona Robison: Patients on a waiting list who are transferred within the same NHS board to another specialty (removal reason code 50) or transferred to another NHS Board area (removal reason code 59) do not have their "waiting time clock" stopped or reset to zero.

  We expect NHS boards to ensure that all patients are seen and treated within current waiting time standards. Where a patient is required to be transferred to another hospital, we would expect the patient to participate in any decision about their hospital care.

National Health Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what processes exist to support NHS boards in funding treatments for ultra-orphan disease and whether this includes a risk-sharing scheme for funding.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13894 on 16 June 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were in prisons in each quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.

Fergus Ewing: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Provisional information on the number of children (aged over 14 and under 16) who were held in a Scottish Prison or Young Offenders Institution under Unruly Certificate arrangements in each quarter of 2007 is given in the following table:

  

 Time Period of Interest
 Number of under 16’s


 Quarter 1: 01-01-2007 – 31-03-2007
 4


 Quarter 2: 01-04-2007 – 30-06-2007
 5


 Quarter 3: 01-07-2007 – 30-09-2007
 6


 Quarter 4: 01-10-2007 – 31-12-2007
 1



  No child under 14 years was held in Scottish prisons during 2007.

  Information for the first quarter of 2008 will not be available until after the publication of the final 2007-08 data in the Prison Statistics Scotland 2007-08 Bulletin on 29 August 2008.

Recycling

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide incentives to encourage commercial properties to reduce, recycle and reuse their waste.

Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the question S3W-14446, answered on 22 July 2008, which gives details on the advice and information currently available to the owners and managers of commercial properties. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

  We will consider the possible role for more incentives in this area during the review of the National Waste Plan. The annual Vision in Business for the Environment (VIBES) awards http://www.vibes.org.uk/index.htm, supported by the Scottish Government, aim to raise awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues within businesses in Scotland.

Scottish Government Funding

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the core allocation to the Dundee Science Centre was in the most recent full financial year for which figures are available and what percentage of the centre’s income this represented.

Fiona Hyslop: The core allocation from the Scottish Government to Dundee Science Centre for the financial year 2007-08 was £160,300.

  The accounting year for the Dundee Science Centre runs from 1 January to 31 December. It is not possible, therefore, to match the grant paid by the Scottish Government in a given financial year to the Centre’s income for the same period. However, in its statutory accounts to 31 December 2007 the Centre recorded £125,750 core grant from the Scottish Government against a turnover of £879,240 (excluding capital funding). On the basis of these figures the Scottish Government grant represents around 14% of the Centre’s total funding.

Scottish Government Funding

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the core allocation to the Dundee Science Centre will be in each financial year to 2011-12, also expressed in real terms.

Fiona Hyslop: The core allocation for each of the years requested is given in the following table:

  

 Year
Core allocation £ million
Value in real terms (at 2007-08 prices) £ million


 2008-09
 0.2
 0.194


 2009-10
 0.228
 0.216


 2010-11
 0.26
 0.24

Student Funding

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13906 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2008, how many students received financial support excluding non-means tested loans from the Scottish Government in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2005-06 and (d) 2004-05

Fiona Hyslop: The following table shows higher education students who are receiving support, other than non means tested maintenance loan, from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in academic years 2004-2005 to 2006-2007.

  

 Academic Year
 Number of students


 2004-05
 117,155


 2005-06
 117,880


 2006-07
 119,090



  Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

  Student numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.

  Students are included in the table if they receive support including tuition fees, (or tuition fee loans if they study outside Scotland) and/or awards and/or means tested maintenance loans.

  This table does not include students on the Nursing and Midwifery Bursary Scheme. Academic year 2006-07 is the latest for which figures are available.

UK Legislation

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the UK Government to discuss the amendments to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 proposed in Schedule 7 of the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill and what representations it plans to make on the matter before it is voted on.

Shona Robison: The content of the Bill, including the amendments, is reserved. The amendments, while relating to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, are consequential to the reserved purpose of the Bill and do not, therefore, require a Legislative Consent Motion. Scottish Government officials have been asked by UK Government officials during the preparation of amendments to the Bill to clarify aspects of Scots Law in relation to areas such as adults with incapacity and the age of legal capacity (which is 16 in Scotland as opposed to 18 in England and Wales).

UK Legislation

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Scottish Parliament should have been consulted before proposals to amend the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 were introduced through the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill to enable the creation in vitro of human cloned embryos or human admixed embryos for research from cells originating in an adult with incapacity and without his or her express consent.

Shona Robison: The content of the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill is reserved and the associated amendments are consequential on the reserved purpose.

UK Legislation

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns that Schedule 7 of the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which seeks to amend the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 would undermine the protection given to adults with incapacity in Scotland, in particular the requirements relating to ethics committees which include the regulatory powers of a Scottish minister to prescribe particular matters which these ethics committees shall take into account when deciding to approve any research and what representations it has made to the UK Government on the matter.

Shona Robison: No. The regulation of ethics committees in Scotland under the terms of The Adults with Incapacity (Ethics Committee) (Scotland) Regulations 2002, as amended, are unaffected.

  The effect of the amendment excludes the adults with incapacity research consent provisions. The human fertilisation and embryology provisions will apply in such circumstances, thereby, avoiding the potential for two separate and different tests being applied. This approach does not undermine the regulatory powers of Scottish Ministers, with regards to the Adults with Incapacity Ethics Committee, and no representations have been made to the UK Government in this regard.

UK Legislation

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it made to the UK Government to seek a full public consultation in Scotland on the matter of the creation of in vitro human cloned embryos or human admixed embryos for research from cells originating in an adult with incapacity and without his or her express consent, prior to the passage of the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill through Westminster.

Shona Robison: As the content of the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill is reserved, the issue of consultation is for the UK Government.

Wildlife

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what communication and discussion has taken place with the European Commission about the possible effects of the re-introduction of beavers on the Atlantic Oakwoods special areas of conservation and what the view of the commission is.

Michael Russell: SNH provided advice to the Scottish Government regarding the Atlantic Oakwoods Special Area of Conservation in line with the requirements of Article 6.3 of the Habitats Directive as transposed by regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, as amended. The outcome of these considerations meant that reference to the European Commission was not required.